Nisha M. - Software Engineering Manager

Title: Software Engineering Manager
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Joined: 2018
Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Learn all about Nisha’s engineering adventures at Groupon Dublin and where her knack for crocheting stemmed from. #WomenInTech

Tell us about your job. What do you do? What does a typical day look like?

I am an Engineering Manager for the Merchandising Experience & Intelligence Team in the Marketing Engineering wing. We are constantly improving the merchandising tools to build, maintain & curate content that provides unified experience across different platforms to the groupon users.

How are you staying connected with your team as we’re all working remote?

It isn’t easy. A few things that have helped me to stay connected with my team are keeping my camera on, extending team specific meetings to casual encounters, and mandatory weekly meetings with the team building activities available remotely. This has not only helped bond us as a team but also to feel some sense of normal while working remotely.

You’ve been at Groupon for 3 years. What about the company has kept you here?

Definitely the work environment and the people I work with. There is a good balance, although we work with teams across different time zones. My direct managers and senior leadership are very supportive and encouraging in providing opportunities to showcase my abilities.

What has been your proudest moment so far at Groupon?

One of my independent contributions involved powering the data to the Groupon homepage. This data was used to show top performing categories based on location. This is one of my proudest moments as the piece of code that I contributed impacted millions of users. I was given complete ownership and responsibility to design, build and deploy the application.

What’s the biggest challenge your team is solving?

We are constantly working towards simplifying the content creation process for merchandising teams and helping to create unified experiences across different pages and platforms for Groupon users.

How has your experience in other roles helped you in your current position?

I started my journey with Groupon as an Engineer which taught me a lot, and even my involvement in different internal groups such as the Sports & Social Club here in Dublin and the Women @ Groupon ERG (Employee Resource Group) has provided me valuable experience in communication, organization and leadership.

What piece of career advice would you give candidates looking to join Groupon?

Have a vision of what your growth must look like and start aligning your strengths to the right opportunities.

How did your Groupon journey begin? What roles at Groupon have you had since then?

I chose Groupon because the job offered me a team that had a balance of male/female engineers which was commendable. I started as a Backend Engineer, expanded my skills and transitioned to a Frontend Developer, and now I'm an Engineering Manager for the same team. Groupon has been supportive in this journey by giving me an opportunity to showcase my abilities and providing mentorship and resources in an environment where it's okay to take risks.

Why would you recommend a career within your team?

Our team has been an advocate for engineering excellence, a strong motivation in achieving business goals, and empathetic towards each other.

What do you love about your job?

The balance between exploring technical feasibility and enforcing emotional intelligence.

What is one non-work activity or hobby that you're into? How did you get into it?

I love to crochet, knit & paint. I have filled my home with these crafty projects. I believe it's in my genes since my mother is a pro in this arena, and an inspiration for the home decor.

What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?

• Networking and visibility is important for career growth.
• Communication is key.
• Incremental, measurable goals are easier to achieve.

What’s your favorite part about your team’s Software Development process?

Testing! That green check on your code is such a relief!

Name your favorite programming language.

Java was my first love. JS was love at first sight!